Japan to spend record US$133 billion on earthquake resilience

One focus will be on strengthening essential services affected by recent disasters, such as the Noto Peninsula earthquake last January

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A police officer and a rescue dog search for survivors after a earthquake hit the Noto Peninsula on January 1, 2024. Photo: Kyodo

Published: 2:13pm, 31 Mar 2025Updated: 2:43pm, 31 Mar 2025

The Japanese government will set aside a record high amount of funding to strengthen key infrastructure and prepare for another major earthquake, Yomiuri News has reported.

More than 20 trillion yen (US$133 billion) will be allocated to a five-year national resilience plan starting in the next financial year, according to the news outlet, citing various government and ruling-party sources.

This marks an additional 5 trillion yen from the current plan, which has been effective since the 2021 financial year.

The draft is expected to be announced on Tuesday, and the government will finalise the plan by June.

A pillar of the new plan will be strengthening essential services, including water and electricity supplies, affected by recent disasters, such as the Noto Peninsula earthquake on January 1, 2024.

The quake, which measured 7.6 on the Richter scale, combined with heavy rainfall, claimed more than 500 lives and left two people missing. Over 150,000 homes were damaged, according to the Nippon News Network.

Debris from the January 1, 2024 Noto Peninsula earthquake piled up on a temporary waste disposal site in the Ishikawa Prefecture city of Suzu, central Japan, six months after the disaster. Photo: Kyodo